Discussion on the hanging of the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in the Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly here today turned into a blame game between the ruling National Conference and opposition Peoples Democratic Party with the two major political parties of the state holding each other responsible for it. This followed after the Assembly Speaker Mubarak Gul admitted all the three adjournment motions filed separately by National Conference,PDP and CPI(M) seeking discussion on situation arising in Valley after the hanging of Guru and return of his body to his family members so as to enable them perform his last rites as per their religious practices. Guru a convict in 2001 Parliament attack,was hanged in Tihar Jail after President rejected his mercy petition and his body was buried within the jail premises. During the two hour long discussion which began at 1050 hrs after ruckus by Bharatiya Janata Party and Panthers Party members leading to half an hour adjournment of the House by the Speaker,the PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti charged the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah with being a party to the hanging. Afzal Guru had written in one of his letters about Union Home Ministry informing him that his request for a counsel from the state was rejected by Jammu Kashmir government twice,she pointed out. The latter in turn accused her of doing politics on innocents' blood in the Valley. "You have no love lost for either Afzal Guru's family or people of the Valley. You only want killing of innocent people to continue unabated so that your politics of deceit continue to thrive," Omar said. The Law,Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister,Mir Saifullah,intervened pointing out that it was PDP government in Jammu and Kashmir right from 2001 to 2006 when Afzal Guru was tried in court and awarded death penalty for attack on Parliament. National Conferences Nasir Aslam Wani and M Y Tarigami of CPI(M) also spoke on the occasion. Earlier Mehbooba Mufti initiated the discussion asking whether people of Kashmir were part of the Indian democracy or not. Pointing out the Gurus hanging came as a shock to everybody in Kashmir,she said that it has caused a grave set back to all the measures initiated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his predecessor Atal Behari Vajpayee for restoration of peace in Valley and gaining the confidence of people there. Criticising the hanging of Guru as being selective especially when he was at serial number 28 in the list of condemned prisoners,she accused Omar Abdullah of having failed to convince Union Home Minister commute his death sentence into life,make arrangements making the grieved family have a last meeting with him and after his hanging,handing over his mortal remains to them for last rites as per their religious practices. With tears rolling down her eyes recalling that his family was not allowed to meet Guru before hanging,she asked the House to resolve once and for all that such incidents will not be allowed to recur in future,demanding preparation of a white paper on people of Kashmir lodged in jails across the country. Replying to the charges,Omar said that "Some people were trying to take political mileage of Afzal Gurus hanging by shedding crocodile tears". "Even prior to my assuming office and thereafter,I have always been advocating commutation of Afzal Gurus death sentence into life imprisonment, he said,adding that he had apprised the Centre many time about the aftermath of his hanging and its political fallout in Valley. Denying the PDP charge that his government had signed Gurus death warrants,Omar said that it had nothing to do with the case as he was charged with attack on Parliament in Delhi. In Maqbool Bhats case,the then state government had signed his death warrant as the JKLF leader was sentenced to death for the killing of a bank manager in Valley,he pointed out. Pointing out that it was not his governments job to file mercy petition on his behalf after the Supreme Court verdict,he said that "I had neither put the noose around his neck,nor had I pulled the lever". "We were only informed by the Centre about its decision to hang Guru and asked to make arrangements for maintenance of law and order situation," he said. As some PDP members tried to interrupt him,Omar shot back saying justifying imposition of curfew in the Valley after Guru's hanging. "We will not apologize for it as we never wanted recurrence of 2010 situation when Valley had been caught in an unending cycle of violence due to death of stone pelters in police firing". In an apparent reference to mainstream PDP and separatist Hurriyat leaders,he said that they wanted to do politics on dead bodies. "However,we did not allow them to disturb peace even when the people faced hardships and they could not come out of their houses due to curfew, he added. Pointing out that the situation was under control today as against 21 days shut down in Valley when Afzal Guru was awarded death penalty by the court. Expressing gratitude to the people of Valley for not allowing vested interests spoil the situation,he asked the people to wait and watch the treatment meted out to other condemned prisoners. If death sentence is not executed in their case,the people of Jammu Kashmir will feel that Gurus hanging was selective with political motives,he pointed out. As the Chief Minister finished his reply,the PDP members walked out the House in protest over Speakers refusal to allow their member Muzaffar Hussain Beigh participate in the discussion.
